‘Displaced Marawi children suffering from trauma’

MANILA, Philippines - A fortress with a tower from where a sniper will shoot down enemies.

For a majority of children, this is a fantasy they often see in movies, television or video games.

But for a child displaced in the Marawi siege, this is the reality that he wants to happen, to prevent a repeat of the harrowing experience of fleeing from the clashes that have destroyed the city.

“It struck me. I was never an evacuee so I never experienced what these children are going through,” Education Assistant Secretary G.H. Ambat told The STAR yesterday.

Ambat said she met the boy during a visit to an evacuation center in Iligan City. She saw drawings made by children during recreational activities organized by volunteers and“While the exact scale of emotional and psychological trauma is too early to determine, DepEd is endeavoring to restore routine in the lives of displaced students by expediting the delivery of education,” the agency said.

DepEd said its personnel are undergoing training to provide psychosocial support for teachers and students in evacuation centers.

“The provision of psychosocial support is a clear need, based on the testimonies of volunteers deployed in evacuation centers,” the agency.

Lack of school materials

During the visit, DepEd officials discovered that some children do not intend to study due to lack of school materials.

“There are some who do not have clothes, shoes or bags,” DepEd-Region 9 director Isabelita Borres said.

Some of Marawi residents fled to Region 9 or the Zamboanga Peninsula after the clashes between the government security forces and Maute terrorists erupted.

More than 3,600 Marawi students transferred schools this year. The figure is way below the estimated 22,000 displaced by the clashes.

According to DepEd, most of the students transferred to schools near Marawi City, particularly in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

A total of 88 accommodating schools in Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Iligan City have been identified by the agency.

DepEd needs volunteers who can augment the learner’s kits that will be provided to students.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones urged school personnel and the students to welcome those who transferred from Marawi.

Briones appealed to concerned individuals to treat schools as a zone of peace.

“The loss and damage may be immeasurable but one thing remains to be their beacon to stability and a sense of normalcy amid and beyond conflict – quality education,” the agency said.

PRC ready to respond

Meanwhile, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is ready to respond should a disease outbreak occur in evacuation centers.

The PRC said it has a basic health care unit (BHCU) that is capable of attending to at least 3,000 evacuees in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte.

“The health of our people is our main concern. Through this health care unit, we can serve thousands of individuals, provide them with medicine and other health related concerns,” PRC chairman Richard Gordon said.

The BHCU has 20 beds for patients who need to be observed and monitored by PRC’s volunteers and health care professionals.

Gordon said they have sufficient supply of basic medicine for the evacuees.

Cash aid

The government is currently drafting the policy for the release of P1,000 cash aid for individuals displaced by the siege. 

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said the funds would be downloaded to DSWD field offices as soon as the policy is finished.

Taguiwalo said the grant was intended for the purchase of the evacuees’ food during Ramadan, apart from the family food packs and non-food items that are provided to affected families.

To ensure equal distribution of resources, the DSWD will resolve issues on duplication of names of displaced persons through its profiling and matching systems.

Data showed there are more than 316,000 people displaced by the crisis. 

Of the figure, more than 14,000 are in evacuation centers, while a majority is staying with their relatives or friends in nearby provinces. – With Sheila Crisostomo